This summer DD30 started wearing minimalist, zero drop shoes. I always thought these shoes looked ugly shoes and associated them with runners who would wear them without carefully building up duration and then injure themselves. DD30 is very persuasive. She showed me convincing information that they could be good for my posture and my feet. DD30 wore them for two months, June and July and the. showed me before and after pics of her feet. I could see changes, probably improvements. After consultation with a PT, I purchased a pair of Vivo Barefoot’s in August. I slowly increased the duration I wore them until I could wear them all day. I gradually started to take increasingly longer outdoor walks with them. I liked how they felt and noticed that my feet were hurting less than ever before. I ditched my orthotics which I used in other shoes ordered some zero drop minimalist shoes for everyday use. Since October I have been wearing them exclusively. I even found some zero drop minimalist boots for snow.


About a month ago, I spoke with a pain medicine specialist and told him that after fracturing my femur while training for the Boston Marathon, many years ago, I have experienced pain in my Sacroiliac joint whenever I try to return to running. He advised I switch to zero drop running shoes! He thinks my leg healed with a slightly new alignment and the heel lift and rocker in most shoes is problematic. He said I don’t need all that because I am not a heel striker when I run, I have a mid/forefoot strike. I went to the local running store and discovered the following.
1. one foot is almost a full size smaller than the other and edging to a wide width, the longer foot is medium to narrow in width.
2. I have high arches and insteps.
3. I have skinny heels.
4. Almost every shoe company has a zero drop shoe, or a low drop shoe although not one that will fit my foot. I tried some from Hoka, Saucony, Aasics, and Altra. The Saucony shoes fit well but had too much rocker motion so I vetoed them and purchased the Altras which have a skinny heel and wide toe box like my other zero drop shoes. So far, I only have some minor plantar fasciitis the morning after a run but it goes away after stretching and warming up, so I think it’s going to resolve. I’m into my second week and have no Sacroiliac pain, which is amazing, since the back pain has typically started immediately, even with a short episode of slow running. Fingers crossed. I am motivated and doing my best to progress slowly. I’m using the Runna App.

My collection of zero shoes now includes my first pair of Vivo’s, plus a second pair of leather lace ups. Some winter boots made by Xero, water resistant hikers from belenka, two pair of leather sneakers from Zaqq and my new Altra running shoes.

Those who know me from this forum know I have a large collection of fashionable shoes collected over many years however, I haven’t been wearing them! I’m not ready to give them away but I do find them much less comfy!

They aren’t pretty, and may not be fashionable but they are working well for me. What do you think?

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9 months ago